November 19, 2008
Respect My Authority
Legendary U.K. dancemasters The Brighton Port Authority (a.k.a. The BPA) finally have an official website. It's as elaborately detailed as the old Blair Witch Project site. And, well, it's just as big a hoax.
Norman Cook — the once and future Fatboy Slim — dreamed up this lark for his latest project. Supposedly formed in 1977, the BPA recorded with a rotating cast of musicians (Martha Wainwright, Iggy Pop, David Byrne, etc.). Of course, they actually recorded with them, only not when they say they did…. The "rediscovered" tracks can now be accessed at the website, on which Iggy Pop slathers his loungey baritone all over a cover of the Monochrome Set's "He's Frank." (Recorded — take note — four years before the song was written.) Emmy the Great's wide-open alto warms "Seattle's" lazy groove. And David Byrne — yelping and testifying on the calypso-inspired "Toe Jam" — hasn't been this unhinged since he donned the big suit in Stop Making Sense. (The video spells out the name of the track with the naked dancers and strips of censored tape.)
The BPA might be what the Brits call "taking the piss," but it's no joke. Imagine the Rutles on E, or Spinal Tap at a rave, and you'll get a sense of the fun that'll be in store when the album is released in January '09.
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